I’ve never tried an Italian-focused buffet brunch/lunch before and was only too happy to check out Basilico, especially since much has been written/said about the place.

Can I just say that I am well chuffed at this discovery. All Sundays should be like this – alcohol, great company, plenty of laughter and dirty jokes and not forgetting a scrumptious Italian buffet spread. I’m not big on buffets and not want to rave about a place just because it boasts an extensive selection (read: The Line) – no amount of sashimi, oysters and poached prawns is not going to wow me because the bottom line is, give me quality over quantity any time.

Quality and quantity is exactly what I got at the Basilico champagne brunch. I was struck by the glorious selection of Italian appetizers, breads, dips, pastas, grilled meats, fresh fruit juices, desserts (displayed like art in glass casings) not forgetting the free flow of chocolate martinis (in your choice of dark or white chocolate).

One of the highlights were definitely the breads / breadsticks and wide selection dips – the warmed up freshly baked ciabatta consumed together with their excellent array of dips (the sun dried tomato, mascarpone and pesto dips were simply excellent) sure got me all revved up. They’ve also got a great selection of cheeses and lovely bottles of fig dips, honey etc – it was great pairing everything together and really whetted the appetite for more.

Another highlight for me was the cured meats which brought my culinary journey beyond the usual parma ham. There was a variety of cured (pork) meats – pancetta, capicola, prosciutto and bresaola (beef) and slices of sweet melon to go with it. Simply divine. Everyone was kept sufficiently busy between the cured meat station, and the poached seafood (including prawns, scallops and crab legs) before hitting the mains.

The pasta selection was good, from vegetarian lasagna, to gnoccis and raviolis. There is also a pasta station where they can mix any pasta/sauce of your choice (but what’s available in the buffet spread is enough to keep you busy). I especially loved their porcini panzerotti (pasta parcels filled with the deliciously heady porcini mushrooms).

The grilled meats were also very good – especially the lamb (really lovely, this one) and beef. This just screamed value for money because the meats were good enough to be served as a main dish on its own (which you’d fork out close to $30 per pop).

This buffet requires you to walk around to discover different “stations” at various corners of the restaurant. Their chocolate counter for example has a chocolate fondue fountain and is also wear you get your chocolate martinis freshly shaken for you, or indulge in little mini cups of thick hot molten chocolate.

We were also pleasantly surprised by them presenting a little pizza coupon where we were asked to tick off the ingredients we wanted for a freshly baked pizza for our table. We chose the gorgonzola and mozarrella cheeses, seafood and parma ham and in no time we were presented with a lovely freshly made pizza of our choice. Ahhh. If that wasn’t enough, another lovely touch was the tomato and basil sorbet which was served midway during our brunch. A real crowd pleaser, not to mention palate cleanser, this one. The tomato provided a lovely dull sweetness with the basil providing a lovely touch to the overall flavour.

After four glorious hours, 1 chocolate martini, multiple glasses of Mumm champagne (which has a lovely slight hint of aftertaste to it – for a while I thought they were serving Veuve Clicquot), a bellyful of a selection of my favourite Italian food, I happily forked out the moolah ($118/pax, or $138.90 net). Am definitely impressed not only by the spread, but more importantly by the quality of the food. I am not one for feeling delighted by the sheer fact that I am paying for a reasonably priced (or cheap) buffet which came with a ton of things – Basilico got it right by just focusing on the core stuff and getting it right with quality.

You can also go for the non-champagne option which is $68/pax (I believe), and that still gets you a free flow of their white/black chocolate martinis. Somebody say wahey!

So I've had quite a few people strongly recommend that I try "the famous Toa Payoh hokkien mee". So on Thursday night we drove to Toa Payoh only to find that the stall was already closing so we headed to Oasis instead.

This afternoon we were headed to Buono when I suddenly mentioned my craving for hokkien mee. And so the considerate boyfriend suddenly does a sharp left turn to head out of Serangoon Gardens towards Toa Payoh - you know, as the saying goes, when a girl wants her hokkien mee, she's gotta get her hokkien mee. Or something like that.

You can imagine it was with great anticipation as we headed towards the hawker centre. Would it be as good as Ah Hock's - my all time favourite? Without much fanfare we waited patiently for our orders while sipping the delicious home brewed ice lemon tea from the neighbouring stall. Alas, the plates arrived and I was shocked to see that the boyfriend's $3 plate was seemingly a lot less than my $4 plate.

And I can see why Come Daily is so popular because peeps I now know what artery clogging feels like now. The stock is super rich (hello, pork lard!) which gives the overall mee a rather gooey kind of texture. It is really not for the faint hearted. And I now know why he bought the $3 plate because this hokkien mee is really quite jelat - to the point that I had trouble finishing it (horrors).

The verdict? Yes I can see why people dig this but it is really rich and too jelat for my liking. Give me Ah Hock's anytime.

So the Oasis has made the big move from its old premises near the Indoor Stadium to the Toa Payoh. And true to its name its even managed to secure a site next to the pond at the Toa Payoh Park providing a “garden view” dining experience. Hrrmm.

The new digs are definitely a world of a difference from the old restaurant. Gone is the once-iconic porridge restaurant that “floats on water” housed in the Oasis building (with the next door KTV allowing for some really interesting eye candy in the restaurant especially if you dine there late enough). No more (sometimes) tattered red leather seats. Now the place is awash with bright lights, new linens and an all round (cheena) up market feel. Can’t help but miss the old school Oasis restaurant which really was part of the overall charm of the place.

Good to see that they have not done away with the little red buckets which they dish out the steaming hot porridge from. Of course we ordered our usual comfort food of kong ba ($8) and cai po neng ($5). Those are still good, no difference from the old days. At the staff’s insistence we also ordered the house special Oasis beancurd ($10) but I’d say please don't bother and give this a miss. Its basically fried egg beancurd topped with some caipo (?), spring onions and other random crispy bits in a brown sauce. Not very appetising, really.

Overall still a good option for an unfussy bite especially late at night. But the love affair with Oasis has somewhat died a bit after my Toa Payoh jaunt. Its like you know how you met your First Big Love after donkey years and you kinda feel like you've moved on and the going was good when it lasted? Yeah something like that.

Disclaimer - I've only tried breakfast at Twelve + One so this review does not cover their selection of cakes / desserts, which by all accounts, is good stuff.

We trooped down to Twelve + One on the morning of Deepavali. Perhaps somebody forgot to remind them that this Monday morning was like no other because they were clearly unprepared with only one person staffed at the counter (the poor girl) and everything took quite a while to arrive.

But still the place is pretty and quaint and oh so great for one of those girly get-togethers (except if you're sitting outside be sure to be equipped with blotters - ah the Singapore humidity!). I loved the whole look, and was determined not to let the lack of service be the let down of our Monday public holiday morning.

We shared a chocolate danish and a croissant - but really only because there was hardly anything to choose from (a case of being unprepared or that was really it? I'm not sure). Both of which were served warm and their in-house strawberry jam was a great accompaniment. The coffee was not bad, but didn't quite like their take on the hot chocolate. Liked how everything was served on pretty plates and dining amidst the lush greenery with plenty of natural light is definitely a great way to kickstart a day. I don't think I'd go back during the afternoons though - can imagine myself wiltering in the humidity.

Would possibly pop by to try their desserts if I'm in the area and early enough for a post-dinner dessert. Otherwise with their breakfast selection am not really compelled to head back.

Much has been written and said about Forlino and it has, for a long while, been on the list of "must try" restaurants (together with Blu -after Hungry Goh's review). I had to wine and dine a client and given the liberty to choose the dining spot and so I took the opportunity to book a table at Forlino.

And I am thankful I did. The fantastic view afforded great fodder pre-dining conversation and the service was very attentive and unintrusive. The decor is sexy, bordering decadent, with the interesting addition of a warm bluish-grey doors against the dark wood brown panelling. The feel is sensual yet powerful - I like. A bit classic meets Versaille. I am sure it'd all look even sexier in the night as the restaurant, at lunchtime, was flushed with natural light.

Onto the food - we all had the set lunch which I thought was pretty value for money at $45 which comes with an amuse bouche, appetizer/soup, a main dish (comes with choice of pasta) and coffee & petit fours. The warm bread (topped with a light sprinkling of sea salt) that preceded the meal was especially delicious and I really had to keep from having seconds. Both the warm dark salad and cannelloni which I had were definitely competent, but really nothing to shout about. To be honest I wasn't completely floored by the food - and it could very well have been the choice of dishes for the set lunch. For one I would still very much wish to return and try the veal ravioli with truffles and quite a few items off their dessert menu.

Forlino fabulous? Not quite - yet. However I'd still return to explore their ala carte menu and for business dining.

So I’ve finally trooped down to White Rabbit – something which I’ve wanted to do for a long time to check out the interiors / décor more than anything else. Obviously food was also top of mind, given the mixed reviews both on this website as well as mainstream media. Secondary was the service, where it seems that White Rabbit has almost become synonymous with “great interiors, so-so food, patchy service”.

The interiors did not disappoint. It was heartening to see that even for a Tuesday lunch the place was almost full. This is obviously one of those places to see and be seen, and already at today’s lunch sitting I spotted a few familiar faces. Once I walked in I already began to wish that I’d come with my regular group of girlfriends as the place was flushed with so much natural light and oh so pretty.

Food wise, there were hits and misses – but the misses outnumbered the hits. Before our dishes arrive I have to say I really enjoyed their warm ciabatta breads and the butter they served there. My friend and I shared the raw oysters, but we were immediately hit by how salty they were – there was just so much salt water in the oysters. I had the foie gras and this was good – competently done, and if I ever went back to White Rabbit I’d order it again. My friend’s duck confit salad was also good. My mushroom cappuccino however was too salty, too diluted, lacked punch and mushroom flavour (despite the fact that it contained porcini powder, per the menu) and was forgettable.

I ordered the White Rabbit Mac & Cheese because I’ve read so much about it (and it seems to be their signature dish and so much has been written about it in mainstream media) and can I just say it was really a bit of a disaster for me, evidenced by the fact that I could not even bear to finish even half of it. Yes all that black truffle and truffle sauce sounds sexy and fancysmazzy-sounding but the reality is that does nothing for the mac & cheese, which, let’s face it – is a rather plebian dish in the first place (even if they choose to brand it as an “old world classic”). The result was a dish that was too rich and had too much going for what is essentially a very simple dish. I don’t know what it is but I really did not dig the resulting clash of flavours in the dish, with the cheese coming off as rather sharp rather than creamy and homely (as it should be). Simply put, I think this dish is a victim of overhype, and I’d personally advise you not to order it – try something else. We skipped dessert, as nothing on the menu appealed (Mars soufflé? No thanks).

I also had the Bamboozle cocktail – a fruity berry-based cocktail - which was pretty good and very easy to drink - definitely lacks the potency of those served in Klee (as an example).

Service was indeed patchy – service could indeed be improved to do the place more justice. Staff were lifeless (some vivaciousness on their part could not hurt) and service could definitely be more refined, from simple things like how they even serve the plate on the table. It just seemed all rather detached, curt and it would help if the waiter maintained eye contact while taking orders. Thankfully I was spared nightmarish incidences which seemed to have hit a few HGW reviewers. So I notice there was a restaurant hostess to welcome guests – but really I’d rather they did away with that and improved the service of the wait staff.

On a side point, it was a little slightly unnerving dining in what used to be a chapel – from where I was seated there was a little basin/bowl which I imagined used to contain holy water fixed to the wall, adorned with a cross and all. Which made me a little unconscious everytime I said a swear word – “oh work is such a fking pain” – followed by me silently going “sorry sorry” in my head…But don’t get me wrong. The whole restored chapel setting makes for a charming site for a restaurant and I thought the Loof peeps really got location right.

I’m not sure if I’d return to the White Rabbit, and that’s mainly because of the food. Unless there’s a change in menu and I’m reading from reviews here that there’s been a bit of a sea change in their offerings, based on my experience today I don’t feel a compelling need to return – great interiors notwithstanding.

Much has been written about the view which Il Lido boasts and yes, it does make for a great date place (by conventional standards). Went there with the ex-boss (with the banking out of pocket expense budget) and we sat outside in the humid evening which caused me to gaze longingly at the airconditioned indoor seating ever once in a while (someone pass me a blotter already!). Although sipping pink champagne while soaking in the views is really pretty cool.

I had the panroasted goose liver with apricots and moscato wine sauce which was not too bad, but prefered my dining partner's sea scallops “milanese” with green beans and fresh almonds sauce. Both of us had the lobster ravioli with lemon verbena butter and broccoli which was not bad, although more ravioli would have been good (thank goodness for the starter).

For dessert we shared the red wine pear with crunchy heart & “monorigine equateur” chocolate ice-cream which for all its fancysmazzy-sounding was only so-so.

Service I found to be disappointing. Would have liked service, while attentive, to be more refined backed with more grace and sophistication. One of the servers was clearly nursing a bad flu and could not help but feel queasy each time she came to clear a plate.

Overall - I walked out of Il Lido feeling that the place is a bit of a victim of the (over)hype, and the top dollar I'm paying is more towards the location/view rather than the food per se.

Having read numerous reviews of La Nonna I have been pretty keen to check this place out.

Had their weekday set lunch which I thought was affordably priced at $22 ($25.89 all-in).

First up was the tomato soup which was hearty and a tad on the sour side, and definitely whetted my appetite setting me psyched for more. I had the aglio olio as the main and the pasta was suitably al dente and competently executed. The tiramisu dessert was nicely plated, but a bit blah with no real kick to it. Lunch was nicely rounded up with a nice cup of coffee.

Maybe I've not uncovered the real gems in La Nonna's menu. Found my meal there to be overall ok, nothing to shout about, alfresco seats outside make for great people watching.

Buoyed by our pleasant first time dining at Pietrasantra (per review below), I have since returned to Pietrasantra– not once, but thrice.

I’ve tried a number of their dishes, but this review shall focus on the dishes which I keep ordering with every return.

For starters, the seafood soup is excellent. Chockful of fresh succulent seafood, the soup is hearty with a slight tangy tomato tinge, and would recommend that you share it with a partner as it can be really quite filling on its own.

Another winner is their pan-fried snails in a rich garlicky tomato stew. Not something I would usually order, but my girlfriend had this and somehow my fork was always finding itself reaching over for one of them snails. Very homely/humble Tuscan fare (Pietrasantra is named after a small town in northern Tuscany).

Also enjoyed their parma ham with melon – this is a staple feature in Italian menus but Pietrasantra’s stands out for the excellent quality of its cut of meat and no soggy/overriped melons here.

Always be sure to inquire about their daily specials because that’s where the real gems are. And that is how I discovered the best steak I’ve enjoyed in Singapore for ages via their 1kg T-bone steak. Albeit pricey at $150, this is good for 2-3 people and I’ve already had this dish three times because it is just so darn good. The T-bone used is of very good quality, and complemented with a perfect bout of chargrilling such that the meat is imbued with a lovely smokiness, can I just say this is really good stuff and I highly recommend that you try this if the price point doesn’t turn you off. The last time I had it the chef was extremely obliging to divide it into two portions to cook it medium rare for me and a medium well for the friend (given that he could not cajole my friend to have it a little rarer which is really the best way to enjoy the meat).

Their pastas are also very competent – the perennial favourite linguine with clams was good and we even ordered double portions once.

Finally tried their Italy-imported chocolate tart which is very rich and reminds me of Royce chocolates (you know the kind that they sell in a small square box and is chilled). Not bad, but prefer their profiteroles.

To be honest I'm a little dismayed that Pietrasantra's rating is not higher than what I think it should be, perhaps pulled down by lower ratings on the service, which I can understand because they really have been pulling in huge crowds and I can tell that the staff are a little overwhelmed at times. I've already eaten there on a weekday night twice and its always full, which is a real testimony to the restaurant given that Wessex is really more of a destination point where you have to purposefully drive all the way there to eat.

If you enjoy getting away from the madding crowd for a casual good Tuscan-inspired Italian meal in a family-run restaurant head down to Wessex Estate, have some Italian, then walk to Klee for their cocktails. The rustic charm of Pietransatra, plus the laidback cool of Klee makes for the perfect recipe for a great night out.

This place makes for a reasonably priced, fuss-free meal of Shanghainese cuisine.

Situated at the corner of the floor where Coca Restaurant is, this is an easily overlooked hidden find - very simply decked and furnished, this is the pitstop for you if you want to eat, pay and go in half and hour.

The food is reasonably good for its price point. I love their cold beancurd with century eggs ($5) which also has preserved vegetables thrown in. Their drunken chicken ($8) was average but the side chilli sauce was a nice compliment. The xiao long baos ($6 for 6 pices) were quite good (though I still prefer Crystal Jade's) and these are all prepared and steamed on the spot.

Staff are all mainland Chinese, which gives it an extra tinge of "authenticity".

Overall a great place as a pitstop to grab a hot meal at the quieter side of Orchard Road.